Roche’s Avastin extends life in advanced cervical cancer

By Bill Berkrot (Reuters) – Roche Holding AG’s drug Avastin helped prolong the lives of women with advanced cervical cancer when added to chemotherapy in a late-stage clinical trial, likely paving the way to another major use for the multibillion-dollar medicine. This marked the first study to demonstrate that a drug which blocks blood vessel formation in the tumor can prolong the lives of women with gynecologic cancers, researchers said. …